This Day in Doping

Team Astana, including stars Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador, got preferential treatment when it came to drug testing, two leading French newspapers have reported (linked by Bicycle.net). This is part of an ongoing snit between the UCI, the international cycling governing body, and French anti-doping authorities over the rigorousness of dope testing during the Tour […]

Shimano says 1 strike yer out! Anyone caught doping is automatically expelled. That’s all well and good, but again, the problem here is with the UCI governing body. If its tests selectively, and if it looks the other way when it finds irregularities, cyclists have nothing to fear from Shimano. The Shimano policy is a […]

Bicycle.net reports that Alexandre Vinokourov is set to return from his two-year ban prompted by drug-soaked Tour de France stages in 2007. Vinny made headlines recently by claiming Team Astana was “his,” which may well prove to be true, as no one else seems to want it. By the way, doesn’t the whole Astana soap […]

About that “Pure Tour” of 2009? It’s getting closer to dirty. Spaniard Mikel Astarioza’s breakaway seemed unreal on the 16th stage. Now it seems it wasn’t unreal, just unclean. The UCI has suspended Astarioza for testing positive for EPO in June. It was before the Tour began, so technically we still have a clean Tour. […]

Update: Brit cycling star Bradley Wiggins is making his blood profile public…let’s see a baseball player do THAT! It was decent of Major League Baseball to hold off releasing the names of yet even more storybook champions who won while juiced in ’03 — until after this year’s Tour de France. Like the man says, […]

Bicycle.net has a great update on the “clean Tour” of 2009, but as Prudhomme notes, it’s too early to declare victory. For one thing, detection techniques that today find nothing will tomorrow improve. People are looking askance at Contador, a little guy who somehow nonetheless can time trial with the best. But something about Contador […]

Bicycle.net: UCI opposes letting Michael Rasmussen, the 2007 Tour “winner” who was kicked off his team as he was poised to take the yellow jersey to Paris (for lying about his whereabouts earlier in the season), return to competition because he hasn’t paid his share of anti-doping costs. Although Rasmussen was certainly a cheat, he […]

VeloNews: Contador ducks doping questions. Who knows what to make of this? Contador has to be annoyed at second-guessing his performance. But he’s not a very engaging figure, either. I’m not saying he acts like he’s guilty, but somehow these guys always seem to have Barry Bonds syndrome. As much as you may admire their […]

Bicycle.net: Russian cycling federation joins the international crackdown on doping. But sheesh, you hate to see a teenager and 22-year-olds already being banned. We were kind of counting on the youth being the hope of the future!

Bicycle.net: Lance lashes back over report that his team (he’s the leader, right? are we all clear on this?) Astana may be beneficiary of “laxity” in drug testing. “I think it’s ridiculous,” Lance says. Well then, case closed, right? BikePure.org: Two Spanish riders, not in this year’s Tour de France, are suspended for using the […]

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